Political newcomer Tyler Sirois is one step closer to becoming the area's next representative for House District 51.

Malcolm Denemark/FLORIDA TODAY

Political newcomer Tyler Sirois took the Republican nomination for the Florida House District 51 seat Tuesday, beating Cocoa Mayor Henry Parrish III in the GOP primary.

Sirois, 34, executive director of the State Attorney's Office for the 18th Judicial Circuit, received 61.43 percent of the preliminary vote tally compared with Parrish's 38.57percent with all 65 precincts reporting.

Tyler Sirois with his family, son Jack, wife Katy and daughter Emma Kate celebrating with group of supporters at Kay's Real Pit Bar-B-Q in Cocoa. Sirois won more than 60% of the vote.

Malcolm Denemark, Malcolm Denemark/FLORIDA TODAY

Sirois, Merritt Island, now faces former Cocoa Mayor Michael Blake, a Democrat, in November's general election.

"There is a lot of work that needs to be done," Sirois said, thanking Parrish for a "spirited" contest. "We need to focus on repairing our Indian River Lagoon and returning technical and vocational training to our public schools. I look forward to continuing the campaign."

Live primary election results.

District 51 includes most of northern Brevard, including Merritt Island, Port St. John, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Rockledge, and Cape Canaveral. It's currently represented by Tom Goodson, R-Rockledge, who is term-limited.

In the state's House District 52 race, political veteran Thad Altman bested Matt Nye in that district's GOP primary.

Henry Parrish III

Provided

Altman, of Indialantic, ended the primary with 55.73 percent of the vote while Nye, a tech consultant who lives in Suntree, had 44.27 percent

"I think we addressed a larger diversity of issues," said the 62-year-old Altman, the president of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation."We talked a lot about the lagoon and environmental issues. We talked about education, space issues and veteran affairs."

Thad Altman with his son, Sullivan, 17, and wife Mary Pat, at his campaign party at the Eau Gallie Yacht Club grill.

TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY

Altman will face Democrat Seeta Durjan Begui of Melbourne in the general election.

Sirois, although a first-time officer seeker, had the backing of some political connected individuals, most notably Sheriff Wayne Ivey, and Guy Spearman, a well-known lobbyist and major contributor behind the political action committee Brevard Citizens for Good Government.

That PAC criticized Parrish, 55, a two-time Cocoa mayor, on a number of issues during the GOP campaign, most notably the candidate's failure to pay taxes on his Cocoa Village residence and bed-and-breakfast, the Parrish Grove Inn.

Parrish made good on those taxes earlier this month after they became a political football.

Tyler Sirois

Provided

Both Sirois and Parrish touted their conservative credentials during the campaign, noting their support of tax restraint, enforcement of immigration policies and their support of gun owners' rights.

They both also listed the health of the Indian River Lagoon as a top priority.

Sirois will find a bit more of a contrast with Blake, a school teacher, in the general election. Like Parrish, Blake is well-known in Cocoa and has a group of constituents in the city he can count on for support.

Sirois celebrated his primary victory at Kay's Bar-B-Que in Cocoa surrounded by supporters, including his boss, State Attorney Phil Archer.

"It's going to be about ideas," Sirois said. "To me it's just a continuation of the campaign that I've run all along. We're focused on ideas."

Siroris said he plans to keep meeting with voters to "discuss the issues that are important to our county."

House 52

In the House 52 race, Nye's strategy was to paint Altman as a career politician feeding off the public's dime through his role at the Astronaut Memorial Foundation.

Rep. Thad Altman, R-Indialantic, won his primary battle for a reelection bid for the 52nd House district.

Malcolm Denemark/FLORIDA TODAY

While Altman said his position as president is not funded by taxpayers, Nye and others noted a considerable amount of the foundation's funding comes from money collected through the specialty Shuttle Challenger/Columbia license plates issued by the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

Still, like the House 51 race, both candidates touted their conservative principles during the campaign.

Matt Nye lost in his bid to to knock political veteran, Thad Altman, out of the GOP primary for the Florida House 52nd district.

Malcolm Denemark, Malcolm Denemark/FLORIDA TODAY

Altman said the electorate "really is interested in fixing the problems of the state and not just reactionary, anti-views." He sees a spirited campaign with Begui, where the two agree on some issues but differ vastly on others.

"I think it just depends on the issues," Altman said. "She and I probably agreed more on environmental issues than Matt and I. But obviously on Second Amendment issues,on education, on law enforcement, obviously Matt and I would have a closer alignment.

"It just depends on the cluster of issues that you look at," he said.

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @Fla2dayBiz.